Japanese movie - Red Shadow

As Akakage (which means "Red Shadow") struggles to free himself from his enemy's choking grip, the brutal truth is unleashed upon him: he is a nobody. He is doomed to live in the shadows, because he is a ninja. Not only does Akakage need to escape from death by suffocation, he also needs to find his true self. Like Akakage, the movie "Red Shadow" suffers from a bit of identity crisis as it shuttles from comedy to drama and back. These abrupt shifts dampened my enjoyment of this film.



"Red Shadow" is directed by Hiroyuki Nakano (who also directed "A Film By Hiroyuki Nakano: Samurai Fiction") and stars Masanobu Ando as Akakage, Jun Murakami as Aokage (Blue Shadow), and Kumiko Aso as Aska (literally meaning "Flying Bird"). The movie follows the trio as they graduate as full-fledged ninjas and follows them on their early missions. In the later part of the movie, the focus falls on Akakage as he finds his beliefs being tested by the viciousness and treachery that is needed to be a ninja.

Akakage is the most accomplished of the trio and dedicates his life to being a ninja. Aska is his love interest, and they have adored each other since childhood. Aokage is his buddy but he is quite clumsy at times, and often provides temporary comic relief. On one of his missions, tragedy befalls the trio and they are disbanded. Henceforth he treads the path of a ninja alone. Under the orders of Lord Togo, he infiltrates Kyogoku city to gather information about a rumoured secret weapon. There he meets princess Koto (Megumi Okino), who had just inherited the control of the city after her grandfather's death. Princess Koto has to ward off Lord Togo's attempts to take over the city and maintain the fragile peace. Believing that peace will one day prevail, Akakage faces a dilemma and must choose between continuing his mission and helping the princess.

A central theme surrounding the story is the sacrifice one makes as a ninja. Akakage puts his life on the line during missions, and lives a life as a shadow. He has no status in society, in fact his existence is not even known most of the time. Whatever desire he has has to be tampered with the needs of his mission, and his masters who give him a living by giving him missions. But for Akakage, it is a conscious choice.He believes his actions can help to advance an age of peace which he has no doubts will arrive.

Although the anachronistic elements (a Russian gymnast and a rock-band appear on the show, along with modern weapon in ancient Japan) and the irreverent depiction of ninjas make for a few laughs, the overall experience of viewing the movie was not thoroughly enjoyable. The problem is that the storytelling needs a bit of work: you're never quite sure if the movie was meant to be a comedy or an action movie or a love story because of the way the story unfolds. The first part of the movie is clearly comedic in nature, but the grave tone of the second part, interjected with some odd moments makes it a bit disorientating. Quite clearly, the director wants to give the old tale a modern twist, or maybe even subvert it, but I think he has not really achieved his aim. I don't recommend buying this DVD, but if you're bored on an afternoon you can probably get this at the DVD rental and kill a couple of hours.


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